Adhesive transfer and fixing apparatus



Dec. 1, 1953 Filed Jan. 21,

c. R. MAYO ET AL 2,661,289

ADHESIVE TRANSFER AND FIXING APPARATUS \NVENTORS BERNARD d. WOLFE CLYDER. MAYO BY FMA SW ATTORNEY Patented Dec. l, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE 2,661,289 intrusive TRANSFER AND FIXING APPARATUS Glyfile R; Mayoand Bernard J. Wolfe, Rochester;

assignors to The Haloid Company,

Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 21,1952, Serial No. 267,444

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates in general to electrophotographic transferapparatus and in particular to adhesive'transfer apparatus forelectrophotography, and to adhesive transfer and-fixing apparatus forsaid process.

In the art of electrostatic electrophotography, otherwise known asxerography, an image of transferrable electroscopic material is formedon a surface and transferred to a transfer sheet. in practice thistransfer has been accomplished by an electrostatic transfer step,although it has been recognized that there might also be usedcon-tacttransfer to moistened paper or to paper carrying a wax or likesoft substance on its surface. These prior methods of transfer have gen-'erally been satisfactory where Xerography is directed towardreproduction of line copy or in other fields where substantially 100%image transfer is not essential; however, it has been found that many ofthese methods accomplish transfer of considerably less than all theelectroscopic material, with consequent inadequacy for the highrequirements of continuous tone xerography. In addition a'self-contained transfer mechanism isd'esirable to assist in making xeroraphy a more useful and valuable art. It is apparent, therefore, that asimple, workable method and apparatus for substantially completetransfer is one of the key-needs of xerography.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide apparatus fortransfer of xerograph-ic images, the apparatus being simple and compactin use andstructure'and being eflici'ent in operation.

It is another object of the invention to provide xerographi'c transferapparatus for adhesive transfer of a Xerog raphic image to an adhesivetransfer material.

In transfer of continuous tonexerographio 'ima'ges'it has been founddesirable to transfer the image to a film or strip having a tacky smoothsurface and optionally to fix the image by securirig thereove'r 'atransparent sealing strip, and it is-an additional object of thisinvention to provide methods and apparatus for such transfer and,optionally, such fixing method.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means and'apparatusfor bringing a transfer material having a smooth, tacky surface intouniform pressurizedcontact with a surface bearing a transferrablexerographic image and removing the transfer material from said'ima'gebearing surface. 7

It 'is a still further object of the invention to provide such means andapparatus including al's'o tially broken away of a drive and mountingassembly as shown in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view of apparatus according to a furtherembodiment of the invention.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 1, there is anadhesive transfer device generally designated [0 for transfer of axerographic image which is adapted to be integrally mounted on anelectrophotographic image forming machine. This device comprises anupper housing or frame II which preferably may be an integral part of axerographic image forming machine or optionally may be separatelymounted there-on. Rotatably positionedon the frame H are a plurality ofpressure rollers l2 which preferably consists of ax-le IS, a core l4around the axle and a resilient layer or sleeve l5 forming the outersurface. A pressure and mounting assembly [:6 (separately shown in.Figure 4) is mounted below this housing to carry the body of themechanism in cooperation with roller l2 as shown hereinafter, thispressure and mounting assembly preferably being hinged to frame II foreasy access to the mechanism for cleaning, changing parts and supplies,servicing and the like.

Directly below rollers l2, and mounted on pressure assembly [6, are aplurality of spring mounted pressure-rollers i1. These rollers-likewisecompriseanaxle ifi 'and a resilient pressure coating I 9. The axles ofpressure rollers il are rotatably mounted in a support'yoke 2i, which inturn is-secured by a support post 22, a mounting spring 24, and stop 23which is" mounted on a base member or plate 26 and extends througha-central opening in the mounting yoke. Apressure coil spring 24 ispositioned around the :pin and presses against base plate 26 and yoke 21thereby forcing pressure roller 1:! directly rupwards toward the stop.

l 'referably on the support mechanism or yoke for the first pressureroller is mounted a roll 36 of an adhesive sheet material 3| optionallyinterspaced with a non-adhesive or protective material 32, this rollbeing mounted on an axle 33 which is rotatably mounted on the supportyoke as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. As shown in these figures aretarding pin 35 is mounted in a recess 36 in the yoke and serves thedual purpose of lightly securing the axle of the roll within the recessand secondly providing a drag on it to prevent excessive unrolling ofthe sheet material.

Preferably the base of this yoke comprises a horizontal base plate 38secured to a guide pin 39 which in turn is mounted on the support plate26 to hold the yoke in a substantially upright position.

Mounted on a supporting upright 49 beyond pressure rollers I1 is a guideroller 4| and a seallng drive pressure roller 42. A pivotally mountedsupport frame 44 is mounted on pivot pin 45 and carries a cooperatingsealing pressure roller 46 which is positioned and adapted to pressagainst roll 42. A pressure release member 41 is formed toward one endof frame 44 and is spring mounted on post 48 in much the same manner asthe other spring rollers, having a spring 49 and a limit member 50forcing the pressure release member upwardly and limiting its upwardmotion. The frame 44 is so mounted that roller 46 is forced intopressure contact with roller 42 by the upward action of spring 49 andcan be released from such pressure contact by downward pressure manuallyapplied to pressure release 41.

Roll 52 of a transparent or at least translucent 1'.

sealing material 53 is mounted on a core 54 on an axle 55 which rests ina slot 56 in supporting upright 40.

Adjacent to the sealing pressure rollers 42 and 46 is a guide channel 58which is positioned to receive sheet material from between the pressurerollers and guide it through an exit slit 59 in the base plate 26 atwhich point the sheet material moves externally from the entireapparatus.

The entire pressure and drive assembly generally designated I6 ismounted on a support base plate 26 which is secured by means of a hinge62, to a lower housing 6| mounted on upper frame II, the base platepreferably being hinged from the lower edge of the housing 61, wherebythe entire mechanism may be swung free from the upper housing. When inthe closed position a light seal lip or member 63 engages the baseplate,

and firm light tight contact is achieved with a suitable catch member(not shown).

In use and operation a roll of adhesive material 30 is mounted in thefirst support yoke and its adhesive sheet material is fed around thefirst pressure roller I! and between the pressure roller and its counterpressure roller I2 and thence between the succeeding pairs of pressurerollers, around guide roller 4| and finally between sealing pressurerollers and out through an exit slit 59. The non-adhesive or protectivesheet, if any, in this roller, may pass around one or more of thepressure rollers whereit joins the adhesive sheet and is carried with itaround guide roller 4| and out between sealing rollers 42 and 46 andexit slit 59. A roll 52 of sealing sheet material 53 is mounted to feedbetween sealing pressure rollers 42 and 46, there in a contact with theadhesive face of the adhesive sheet material 3| where it joins suchmaterial and is carried from the device therewith.

An image bearing member such as an electrophotographlc plate 65 is fedinto the mechanism entering between the first pair of pressure rollersI2 and I1 and passing through the successive pairs of such rollers incontact with the adhesive surface of sheet material 3|. In passingbetween these pressure rollers the surface of the electrophotographicplate meets the adhesive sheet material in pressure contact whereby thissheet material picks up and holds any powder image or the like on thesurface of the electrophotographic plate. When the adhesive sheetmaterial is stripped from this plate as it passes from the last of thepressure rollers it carries such image or powder material in its directconfiguration to the sealing rollers where the sealing sheet material ispressed securely against the adhesive surface. As the sheet materialleaves sealing rollers 42 and 46 it is in the form of a thin sandwich ofthe two sheet materials having the adhesive layer and its adhesivelycarried electrophotographic image material there-between. It thusemerges from exit slit 59 in the form of a finished electrophotographicprint which may be suitably cut into individual pictures.

It is apparent that at least one of the first pressure rollers l2 and I1and at least one of sealing pressure rollers 42 and 46 must be driven orotherwise rotated to carry the plate 65 and the various sheet materialsthrough the mechanism and to expe1 the finished sheet. This may beaccomplished by any suitable method, one of which is illustrated inFigures 1 and 4. Preferably, a master drive gear 61 is operated, forexample manually, to drive and synchronize individual gears 61a on oneor more of the pressure rollers, thus feeding and carrying the sheetmaterials through the mechanism. The power or drive means may be eithermechanical or manual, as desired.

The mechanisms and details will, of course, be modified and varied incoordination with the nature of the transfer and sealing materials usedin the apparatus. According to one process operating from the apparatus,the xerographic image is transferred by adhesion to a permanently tackycoating of the cellulose or Scotch tape type on a white opaque backingmaterial, although it is to be realized that sheet material coated withany of numerous pressure sensitive adhesives will accomplish transfer.As supplied, this preferred transfer material is interwound on a rollwith glassine paper between the layers of transfer material, theglassine paper serving to prevent adhesion between the layers and thuslargely avoiding distortion upon unwinding the roll. The sealing film isa transparent film adhesive to the tacky surface of the transfermaterial and may, for example, be a cellulosic film, a film formingplastic such as transparent vinyl resins, acrylic polymers, and otherlike sheets or films.

In coordination with these materials, both the pressure and driverollers of the apparatus are rubber covered rollers having structuralcores such steel cores. The pressure rollers were spring mounted to bearagainst the image plate or drive rollers with a force of at least about/2 pound per inch of roller and preferably between about 1 and about 10pounds per inch of roller when utilized with a smooth-surfaced tackymaterial. The speed of passage through the mechanism is either manuallyor automatically controlled and may vary over a wide range, merely beingslow enough to obtain satisfactory and uniform contact with theparticular adhesive sheet used. When operated under these conditions andwith these materials, the mechanism yielded xerographic transfers ofsubstantially 100% of the original image material, whereby the full,accurate reproduction qualities of the xerographic process wererealized.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for adhesive transfer of an image electrostaticallyadhering to an insulating image surface, comprising a support housing, apressure assembly mounted on said housing, at least one pair of opposingtransfer pressure rollers mounted one on said housing and the other onsaid pressure assembly, at least one of said rollers being a driveroller, the rollers thus being adapted to receive an image bearingmember and propel such member between said rollers, a support member onthe pressure assembly to receive a tacky-surfaced web material feedingsaid web into pressure contact with the image bearing surface andbetween said surface and all pressure rollers bearing thereagainst,means to strip the web from the image bearing surface, said meanscomprising a pair of fixing pressure rollers, at least one of which is adrive roller operating at equal speed with the transfer drive rollers, asupport for a protective web material and means for feeding the strippedadhesive web and said protective web material together between thefixing pressure rollers with the protective web contacting the adhesivesurface of the adhesive web, whereby the adhesive web and protective webemerge together from said rollers bearing a transferred imagetherebetween.

2. Apparatus for adhesive transfer of an image electrostaticallyadhering to an insulating image surface, comprising a support housing, apressure assembly mounted on said housing, at least one pair of opposingtransfer pressure rollers mounted one on said housing and the other onsaid pressure assembly, at least one of said rollers being a driveroller, the rollers thus being adapted to receive a flat image bearingmember and propel such member between said rollers, a support member onthe pressure assembly to receive an opaque backed tacky-surfacedadhesive web source feeding said web into pressure contact with theimage bearing surface and between said surface and all pressure rollersbearing thereagainst, means to strip the web from the image bearingsurface, said means comprising a pair of fixing pressure rollers, atleast one of which is a drive roller operating at equal speed with thetransfer drive rollers, a support for a transparent protective webmaterial and means for feeding the stripped adhesive web and saidprotective Web material together between the fixing pressure rollerswith the protective web contacting the adhesive surface of the adhesiveweb, whereby the adhesive web and protective web emerge together fromsaid roller bearing a transferred image therebetween.

3. Apparatus for adhesive transfer of an image electrostaticallyadhering to an insulating image surface, comprising a support housing, apressure assembly mounted on said housing, at least one pair of opposingtransfer pressure rollers mounted one on said housing and the other onsaid pressure assembly, at least one of said rollers being a driveroller, the rollers thus being adapted to receive a fiat image bearingmember and propel such member between said rollers, a support member onthe pressure assembly to receive a tacky-surfaced adhesive Web materialfeeding said web into pressure contact with the image bearing surfaceand between said surface and all pressure rollers bearing thereagainst,means to strip the web from the image bearing surface, said meanscomprising a pair of fixing pressure rollers, at least one of which is adrive roller operating at equal speed with the transfer drive rollers, asupport for a protective web material and means for feeding the strippedadhesive web and said protective Web material together between thefixing pressure rollers with the protective web contacting the adhesivesurface of the adhesive web, whereby the adhesive web and protective webemerge together from said rollers and are carried outside the housingbearing a transferred image therebetween, and a cutting member mountedat the point of emerging from the housing and adapted to cut the websinto individual image members.

4. Apparatus for complete transfer of a xerographic imageelectrostatically adhering to a xerographic plate, comprising a supporthousing, a pressure assembly mounted on said housing, at least one pairof opposing transfer pressure rollers mounted one on said housing andthe other on said pressure assembly, said rollers bearing against eachother with a force between about 1 and about 10 pounds per inch ofroller, at least one of said rollers being a drive roller, the rollersthus being adapted to receive a flat image bearing member and propelsuch member between said rollers, a support member on the pressureassembly to receive a tacky-surfaced adhesive web material feeding saidweb into pressure contact with the image bearing surface and betweensaid surface and all pressure rollers bearing thereagainst,

- means to strip the web from the image bearing surface, said meanscomprising a pair of fixing pressure rollers, at least one of which is adrive roller operating at equal speed with the transfer drive rollers, asupport for a protective web material and mean for feeding the strippedadhesive web and said protective web material together between thefixing pressure rollers with the protective web contacting the adhesivesurface of the adhesive web, whereby the adhesive web and protective webemerge together from said rollers and are carried outside the housingbearing a transferred image therebetween, and a cutting member mountedat the point of emerging from the housing and adapted to cut the websinto individual image members.

CLYDE R. MAYO.

BERNARD J. WOLFE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,411,592 Strawn Apr. 4, 1922 1,818,459 Bryan Aug. 11, 19312,221,776 Carlson Nov. 19, 1940 2,286,569 Pollack June 16, 19422,548,872 Cross et al. Apr. 17, 1951 2,598,892 Critchlow et al. June 3,1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 622,996 Great Britain May 11,1949

1. APPARATUS FOR ADHESIVE TRANSFER OF AN IMAGE ELECTROSTATICALLYADHERING TO AN INSULATING IMAGE SURFACE, COMPRISING A SUPPORT HOUSING, APRESSURE ASSEMBLY MOUNTED ON SAID HOUSING, AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF OPPOSINGTRANSFER PRESSURE ROLLERS MOUNTED ONE ON SAID HOUSING AND THE OTHER ONSAID PRESSURE ASSEMBLY, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID ROLLERS BEING A DRIVEROLLER, THE ROLLERS THUS BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE AN IMAGE BEARINGMEMBER AND PROPEL SUCH MEMBER BETWEEN SAID ROLLERS, A SUPPORT MEMBER ONTHE PRESSURE ASSEMBLY TO RECEIVE A TACKY-SURFACED WEB MATERIAL FEEDINGSAID WEB INTO PRESSURE CONTACT WITH THE IMAGE BEARING SURFACE ANDBETWEEN SAID SURFACE AND ALL PRESSURE ROLLERS BEARING THEREAGAINST,MEANS TO STRIP THE WEB FROM THE IMAGE BEARING SURFACE, SAID MEANSCOMPRISING A PAIR OF FIXING PRESSURE ROLLERS, AT LEAST ONE OF WHICH IS ADRIVE ROLLER OPERATING AT EQUAL SPEED WITH THE TRANSFER DRIVE ROLLERS, ASUPPORT FOR A PROTECTIVE WEB MATERIAL AND MEANS FOR FEEDING THE STRIPPEDADHESIVE WEB AND SAID PROTECTIVE WEB MATERIAL TOGETHER BETWEEN THEFIXING PRESSURE ROLLERS WITH THE PROTECTIVE WEB CONTACTING THE ADHESIVESURFACE OF THE ADHESIVE WEB, WHEREBY THE ADHESIVE WEB AND PROTECTIVEWEB, EMERGE TOGETHER FROM SAID ROLLERS BEARING A TRANSFERRED IMAGETHEREBETWEEN.